# Has your parent ever whaled on you like that judge did **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800 "2011-11-04T00:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/21 "2011-11-04T04:54:46Z")
I got spanked two or three times, not hard, with a flat hand, on the ass, by my mother as a punishment of last resort. I personally feel it was completely reasonable. When I was seven I was staying with a friend and we were giggling after lights out. His dad came in and removed his belt and threatened both of us with it if we didn’t shut up. He didn’t beat us, but I suspect that he did beat his children that way. Guess which state? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/22 "2011-11-04T05:42:27Z")
It wasn’t unusual for my father to take off his belt and just lose control with it. I remember having welts on my back. And once, when I was 6, he beat the crap out of me. And I hadn’t really even done anything wrong. I remember that my feet weren’t touching the floor; he must have been holding me up. And I also remember passing out, because I was screaming continuously and couldn’t stop to inhale. The next thing I remember, I was in the kitchen with my mother and aunt, and one of them was putting ice on an area of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/23 "2011-11-04T06:06:37Z")
The only time I remember any specific spanking from either of my parents was the last time, and remember exactly why, and I deserved it. They never used anything other than their hands, and it was rare. The worst I ever got was from other kids’ parents. One summer when I was 5 years old and my parents were out of town, my brother and I stayed with a friend from church who had three daughters. Apparently she felt that we had not been disciplined enough, and brought out the wooden spoon at a whim. We would be punished for things the girls did or accused us of, and sometimes (it seemed) just because she felt like it. My parents are always very apologetic when the subject happens to come up, but I never blamed them. A few years later a woman with a 6-year-old son rented a room in the house, and she often supervised us. Her style was with a bamboo stick, but I think she only used it on me once, if at all. She did use it on her own kid, but while I’m glad it wasn’t me, I just remember her as being more strict, and never crossing the line into what I would consider to be abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/24 "2011-11-04T06:09:01Z")
Good god, no! The worst punishment I got was having my mouth washed out with soap. I got the occassional swat on the butt like most have said here, but that’s it. I DO remember my dad smacking my face a few times when I was screaming myself sick once as a kid, but that was mostly a “SNAP OUT OF IT!!!” kind of thing. But I can’t imagine being beaten with a belt, or anything. The only “marks” left were those my teeth left in the bar of soap. (I swore in front of my dad’s boss when I was four. I was at that age when I was trying out those interesting new words I heard Grandma saying.) The worst smack my sister ever got was one for running out in front of a car when she was about two or three. This thread makes me want to cry. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/25 "2011-11-04T06:37:10Z")
The belt was the preferred method of discipline for a great many offenses: everything from lying to not properly cleaning my room to being a smartass. My stepmother was particularly fond of hauling off and whacking me with as much force as she could muster, which was considerable in spite of her slight build. I never knew how many hits to expect; sometimes she would just go and go. Unfortunately for me, her aim was terrible, often resulting in welts across my back and legs. I once had a welt across my jawline. My dad would use the belt too, but at least he was more precise and would tell me how many to expect. His hits stung like a mofo, though. I didn’t think of myself as an abused child. It never occurred to me that what she and my dad did might’ve been illegal, but I certainly thought it was inappropriate. I was probably 14 or 15 the last time they used a belt on me. I’ve only seen the few seconds of the video that were shown on the today show this morning, but it was enough to make me cringe. I could tell that dad was hitting her hard, and watching her as she tried to get away reminded me of my experience with my stepmother. While I’m sure the girl-now-a-woman’s experience was traumatic, and what her father (and mother) did remains inexcusable, I too find myself questioning the timing & the possible motivation behind the release of the video after all these years. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/26 "2011-11-04T08:15:56Z")
Nothing like that. But that video made me understand how easy it would be to start plotting my fathers demise at a young age if he did. All my father had to do was look at me with his serious piercing blue eyes and point. My mother on the other hand was the primary ass whipper in my family. Usually open palms across the face as hard as she could, objects . Wooden spoons that she’d break on me. But I remember the day when I was 17 when I said enough of that as I grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the fridge. It stopped then and there. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/27 "2011-11-04T09:49:52Z")
I haven’t watched the video, but based on the descriptions nobody in my family has been beaten like that for at least the last five generations. The closest thing would be the fights between my mother’s sister and her first husband; I understand flying vases were routine ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/28 "2011-11-04T10:21:46Z")
Why did she videotape? Has that come out? I assume it was hidden. In answer to the question: no, never. I can’t even watch the video. It makes me sick that parents can treat their children this way. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/29 "2011-11-04T11:26:07Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Why did she videotape? Has that come out? I assume it was hidden. > > In answer to the question: no, never. I can’t even watch the video. It makes me sick that parents can treat their children this way. In an interview she said it had happened before so she knew to expect it and wanted a record. My answer: Not by my mother. Once when I was a teen she slapped me a few times, sort of a bam-bam-bam because I said something really ugly. I don’t even remember what it was. She smacked it clean outta me. But it didn’t hurt so much as it shocked. My grandfather hit me like that but never that many times at once and never with a weapon. He was more of an open-hand type. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/30 "2011-11-04T11:36:20Z")
Yes. With a belt. Scared shitless every day just waiting for it. One time with bullwhip. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/31 "2011-11-04T11:55:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > It wasn’t unusual for my father to take off his belt and just lose control with it. I remember having welts on my back. And once, when I was 6, he beat the crap out of me. And I hadn’t really even done anything wrong. I remember that my feet weren’t touching the floor; he must have been holding me up. And I also remember passing out, because I was screaming continuously and couldn’t stop to inhale. The next thing I remember, I was in the kitchen with my mother and aunt, and one of them was putting ice on an area of my head. Similar for me and my siblings, not to the point of passing out, but yeah, some pretty severe beatings, much worse than what that girl in the video endured, and naked…yes, naked. We received more beatings from my mom than my dad, but we preferred my mom’s beatings because she was weaker and would run out of steam faster than my dad. My dad was a maniac and would wail (not whale, just sayin’…) on us with full force and maximum arc of his belt. His goal was to ensure we would never do it, whatever ‘it’ was, again, and we never did, trust me. Not to excuse it at all, but this was in the mid to late '60s in Germany and we weren’t the only kids in the neighborhood who were subjected to the business end of a belt from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/32 "2011-11-04T11:55:22Z")
Nope, never. I’m shocked that so many people (not necessarily here, but in general) seem to think that it’s ok to hit or otherwise physically punish children. I’m very firmly convinced that nothing good comes from that. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/33 "2011-11-04T12:39:24Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > …wail (not whale, just sayin’…) It is [whale](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whale). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/34 "2011-11-04T12:49:14Z")
No. I was physically abused, but not to that severity. During my Mom’s third marriage my stepfather’s son would get beatings with a belt, which I witnessed, but my Mom never let him do that to me. I don’t know if it’s as bad as the video because I’m not watching that video. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/35 "2011-11-04T12:51:50Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > It is [whale](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whale). Hm. Well, there you go. I was preparing to post a bunch of cites to the contrary, but even though there are tens of thousands of Google hits for ‘wail on’ as in to strike, the consensus from every dictionary I pulled up, with the exception of Urban Dictionary, does indeed indicate that ‘whale’ is correct. Consider me corrected. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/36 "2011-11-04T12:52:16Z")
yes, it was all the rage i guess …the parent was subject to it as a child but would deny it was a bad thing… Rageaholism seems to have not progressed to the present generation, though there are a few nonbreeders among the offspring. (prob for good reason) ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/37 "2011-11-04T13:10:54Z")
> [@OleOneEye](#): > > ☹ Did your father ever apologize? And was he abusive in general? He said “Well I guess you didn’t take those coins after all”. And yes, he was very abusive. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/38 "2011-11-04T13:26:55Z")
Just once. I mentioned it in the other thread, but… I was not supposed to bike beyond X boundary. Just beyond X boundary, like literally 20-50 yards on, there was a little shop. My friends always wanted to go to the little shop, but I never went. And then one day, they convinced me to go. I have no recollection of how my mom found out, but she was furious. She started yelling, then hitting, first with her hand, then she got her hands on a high-heeled shoe, started hitting me with that, then started throwing shoes at me. She was like a crazy woman that day. I only watched about two seconds of that video, and the girl’s beating was still worse, but I remember being pretty traumatized by mine, too. Anyway, I really just came in here to thank the OP for spelling “whale” correctly. I am so tired of seeing it the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/39 "2011-11-04T13:34:40Z")
I frequently got beatings that made the video look quite normal. My parents stopped using a belt when I was about 8, they started preferring an ironing cord for a few years, large sticks, whatever was handy. For reading a comic book on sunday, I was made to try to hold and read it while my step-dad set fire to it. Once I was taken to a field and shot with a pellet gun on my bare skin, when he pulled out a 22 pistol I ran and hid in the woods for two days. When I got back he was gone, apparently that was the straw that made my mom kick him out. There was a lot more but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800/40 "2011-11-04T13:36:40Z")
Gods no… I got spanked - only when I deserved it and KNEW I deserved it. Mom was also fond of the wooden spoon. Lemme tell ya that puppy hurts, too. And you don’t need to whale on anyone with it. Even a light tap with it on bare skins stings like a muther. Not only that, but she only had to say she was GOING for the wooden spoon and us kids usually straightened up like magic. 😃 It was so effective on us as kids, we used it as part of the training method with our pair of german shephard dogs in later life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-parent-ever-whaled-on-you-like-that-judge-did/601800.md?page=3)